Broken

Faces drifted in front of Kai, strange and distorted. He recognized none of them. Their noses were twisted, the eyes askew and glazed over. The skin came in a variety of colors. Red, gold, and black was the most common marbled pattern, although there were a few more randomized ones, like combinations of green, blue, and purple.

What was wrong with his head? Where were these images coming from? Why was it so hard to keep focused on an individual subject? He wished he knew.

There had been one point where he had been sobbing softly, wishing that he would wake up and find that all of this was a dream.

He was not only starving, but very dehydrated. There was a reason that the water he floated in was salty, after all. It made it so that he could not drink it. The water was skin temperature so he could not feel it, either.

He slowly sat upright, head brushing against the top of the claustrophobic tank. The walls were warm. All he could feel was the resistance as his shaky hand pressed against it. No texture.

More faces passed in front of his eyes, staring blankly back at him with their contorted faces.

He couldn't take it anymore. This was beyond insane. He was beyond insane. Or he would be soon, if he could not get out.

He felt around for the door with both hands, leaning his weight into the walls, waiting for the moment that a hinge would swing open.

He could not find it.

Desperately, he panted. The air felt thick and suffocating. How much longer would it be until he ran out of oxygen? The lightheaded delirium he was in only made his body work more frantically in its search.

What am I doing? In a short-lived moment of clarity, he withdrew his hands from the walls. He sank back towards the dark water. If I go out there, that means that the Overlord has won. I can't let that happen.

And so, mind made up, he laid back down in the water and accepted his fate.

He was going to die.

The idea was strangely comforting. His death, caused by asphyxiation, would be free of most physical pain. He would simply run out of oxygen and stop breathing. It was that simple.

More faces, followed by haunting whispers that sent shivers down his spine.

Nobody cares, Sanguine Knight. You're all alone.

He was out of strength, unable to resist the voice any longer. It had been feeding him these statements for so long that he was starting to believe them.

You're useless. Even the Overlord has left you to rot away in this tank, completely alone.

Why even try to fight it?

The sound of running water met his ears, soft at first, then gaining intensity. Were they draining the tank?

No, Kai realized, his weak heart pounding. He felt the water rising up above his ears, getting into his eyes. He sat upright. Overlord is adding more water! He sat upright and felt his head hit the ceiling again. It would not take long for the tank to fill up completely, leaving him to drown.

Oh, no.

Kai whirled, arms thrashing as he tried once again to find the door. He shoved his body against every wall. He even tried the top of the box, but nothing was moving.

He said I could leave at any time, Kai thought. Did he lock it? Why can't I find it?

Nobody cares, Sanguine Knight.

Was he going to die? Now that the moment was being thrust upon him, the only thing he wanted was to get out.

The water continued to rise. What had been ten inches became twenty. Then twenty-five. It crawled up his heaving torso, creeping to his shoulders.

No! Kai thought. Why can't I win? I just wanted to die peacefully, and now he's flushing me out! He threw his hand against the wall, gasping for breath as the water rose to his neck.

"No!" He shouted, his voice a mixture of anger and terror. "No! You won't win!"

But that was the problem. The Overlord was winning. No matter what happened, Kai knew it would play into the possessed man's wicked hands.

This can't be happening, Kai thought as his throat tightened. I never got to say goodbye to Nya. I...I haven't seen my father since our spar in the garden so many weeks ago. And my mother... He did not have the strength to finish the statement. His mind was fading. The water reached the top of the tank.

...Nobody cares...

And then...there was the blinding tunnel of light.

Overlord was growing impatient. At first, he had admired Sanguine's strength. But now, it was just getting annoying. It had been nine hours. Nine long hours of waiting, watching, and pacing.

Hosts consume this man, he swore. Why won't he just break already?

What I need to do is find his parents and bring them here. Surely that would be faster than what I'm doing now.

He stopped pacing and stared at the dull grey tank. Surely Sanguine was almost out of oxygen by now. Overlord frowned. If nothing was done, his pet would suffocate. What good would it do anyone if Sanguine was dead?

No, Overlord realized. He wants to die. He's waiting to suffocate. How... It's not possible...

He barked orders to one of the stone sentinels at the door behind him. Turn on the water.

The stone warrior scrambled to obey the command, running up to the tank and turning a knob on the wall behind it. The sound of rushing water met Overlord's ears, and he smiled. It would not take longer than a minute for the tank to fill up. Sanguine would, quite literally, be flushed out.

The result was instantaneous. The muffled sounds of thrashing and screaming filled the air outside the tank. Sanguine was fighting, trying to find the manhole, which was a three-by-three square in the wall on the side of the tank.

So he is afraid of pain, Overlord observed. Funny...Dark Knight was the opposite.

The door had a single hinge and was unlocked. When the water rose to a certain height, the pressure would open the door automatically.

That is exactly what happened. The manhole swung open, and water gushed through, followed by a thrashing, screaming Sanguine Knight. He seemed completely unaware of his surroundings as the water pushed him out of the tank and onto the floor. The water continued to flow out of the hole, spilling onto the floor.

Sanguine laid in the center of the puddle with his mouth and eyes wide open, arms flailing wildly as he choked and gasped for breath. "No," he spluttered. "Y-you won't win."

He's hallucinating, Overlord decided as the water continued to travel across the floor, wetting the soles of his boots. He still thought he was stuck inside the chamber.

The stone warrior bent to pick Sanguine up, but Overlord stopped him. The prisoner just needed a minute to adjust, and then he'd realize what was going on. It was that simple.

But Sanguine did not adjust. Instead, he continued to cough and choke as the water reached toward the far corners of the room. He finally ordered his stone warrior to turn the water off.

"Be still, Sanguine Knight," Overlord said firmly.

No response. Sanguine's eyelids were now squeezed shut, but his lungs continued to heave.

This isn't working, Overlord thought. He spent too much time in the tank. His mind is shot. There's no self-control. He can't even hear me when I speak to him. Reluctantly, he raised a hand, giving the signal for the stone warrior to pick Sanguine up. He turned and walked from the room, boots splashing in the shallow water that covered the floor, draining into a hole in the stones.

Overlord went down the dark hallway at a brisk pace. The stone man followed with the prisoner, who had finally fallen unconscious.

He stopped in front of one door, contemplative. This room, filled with overwhelmingly bright colors, was the place that he usually put his victims in after sensory deprivation. But Sanguine...

Overlord shook his head. No, he would wait a little while before doing that one. Sanguine needed time to heal his fractured mind.

After all, he was looking for cracked, not shattered.

Jay chewed slowly, eyes fixed on the map on the table. It was just after nine in the morning. The grey, cloudy light illuminated the cave decently, although he wished that things could have looked a bit more cheery.

"Need more potatoes?" Lloyd asked, holding up the small cast-iron pan.

Jay shook his head without looking up. "No," he said. "I'm good."

Lloyd sighed, setting the pan back on the portable stove. "Zane, you hungry?"

Zane looked up from his empty bowl, eyes dim from sleep deprivation. "No, thank you."

Jay tuned them out after that, focusing all his attention on the map before him. What were they missing? Why wouldn't Wu just tell them where the blades were, instead of wasting their time and sending them on a wild goose chase?

He examined the geography carefully, though he already knew it by heart. There was the large lake in the center of the island, from which the river flowed into the delta, and then the eastern ocean.

In the northwest, a chain of tall mountains sat right in the water on the coast. That was the fertile terrain, where the mountains blocked the wind and ocean tide, resulting in an expanse of soft, fertile soil. There were many small creeks fed by mountain springs in that area.

In the years before the Overlord's takeover, it had been farmland. Grapefruits, avocados, and oranges used to be grown and traded on Ninjago Island, as well as a variety of other crops.

The east was completely exposed to both wind and tide. The only plants that grew there were salt-marsh bulrushes and more resilient palms.

"Quit asking, Lloyd," Cole snapped, breaking Jay out of his thoughts. "Just shove the last two bites in your ugly maw and scrub out the pot."

"Fine," Lloyd said. He stuffed the potatoes into his mouth and dropped the pan into the shallow pool.

"Don't choke," Zane said. "It's not safe to fill your mouth so full."

Lloyd waved him away, giving him an annoyed look.

But the moment he turned his back, he began to heave. He dropped to his knees next to the water and coughed loudly, spitting out the half-chewed remains. Cole rolled his eyes and looked away. "Clean up after yourself, Your Majesty."

"I told you," Zane said. "That was not a wise move."

"Za-ane," Lloyd spluttered, scooping water into his mouth. "Not...not funny."

Jay turned his attention back to the map. The writing that looked like chicken scratch...it was so strange.

You must go to the fatherland of the sweet Adam's ale.

"What is Adam's ale?" Jay asked. "Cole, do you have any clue?"

Cole scowled at Jay. "If I had any ideas," he said. "I would have told you already."

"Well, yeah," Jay said. "But you never know. Maybe some simple questions could jar your memory."

Cole rested a hand on the pommel of his sword. "This is taking too long," he said, jaw set firmly. "It's been over twenty-four hours since Kai was taken, and what are we doing about it?"

"We're trying," Jay said. "But without the proper weapons, what could we possibly do to rescue him? It would be suicide to go in after him now."

"But it's murder to not go after him," Cole argued. He was breathing heavily. "You can't...you don't understand how effective the Overlord is at murdering minds, Jay."

Lloyd blew air threw his lips. "What could he possibly do?" he asked. "I could handle it"

Slowly, Cole sank onto the cot. He scratched at the fabric over his left breast, eyes cold and distant. "Shut the brat up," he whispered. "He has no right. He can't talk like that."

Lloyd turned, surprised by Cole's response. "Fine," he said. "Should we leave?"

"Leave?" Zane repeated.

"Yeah," Lloyd stood, wiping water from his chin. "Let's all just start walking. Cole can lead us in the general direction of Overlord's prisons, and we can continue to ponder the clues as we travel."

Cole looked up, blinking slowly. "I can do that," he said, voice suddenly strained and coarse like sandpaper. "But you're still not shutting your mouth."

Lloyd shook his head, giving a quick eye roll. "Like you could do anything about it," he said. "Tough luck, not liking my-"

"Lloyd!" Zane gave the boy a stern glare. "Leave Cole alone."

"Why?" Lloyd asked. "All I did was talk about branding and steaming, and I was joking, anyway. Cole needs to lighten up."

Cole shut his eyes and rocked his body gently.

Jay observed him carefully. "What's wrong, Cole?" He asked.

"Nothing," Cole spat. "Why? Does it look like something's wrong?"

"Definitely," Jay answered. "Do you have autism or something?"

"Of course not," Cole answered. "I'm just... Don't pay any attention."

Jay leaned back in his seat, skeptical, but let it slide. "Okay," he said. "On another subject, how many days will it take for us to reach the prisons? Where are they on this map?"

"West," Cole answered readily. He was obviously eager to finally initiate a rescue plan. "His hideout is a hollowed-out mountain at the southern end of the chain, where the land is less fertile and more sandy."

Jay nodded. "So..." He traced a line through the river to the southernmost mountain peak. "Getting straight there would take...just under a day, if we moved fast. But..." He traced a finger west, around the lake at the Island's center, then up toward the peak. "...since we have to go around, I'll have to say...two more days."

"Three days?" Cole choked out, scrunching up his thick eyebrows above his closed eyelids. "But in that time, anything could happen. I don't even know what Overlord wants with Kai; ransom, slavery, pleasure... the possibilities are endless. For all we know, he's been executed."

"I'm sure that he's just fine, being held ransom in exchange for something from Lord Kaytake," Zane said calmly. "Kai is no commoner, Cole. I doubt the Overlord will have the gall to kill someone of such political importance."

Cole sighed. "Maybe," he said. "Here's a plan. You guys go through the river. I'll run around the lake, then meet up with you on the other side. If I run, I might meet up with you in two days instead of three."

"I don't get it," Lloyd interjected. "Why can't we all just go through the Sweetwater?"

"Sweetwater?" Zane repeated.

"Yeah," Lloyd smiled boyishly. "Because the water is so weird and sweet. So I nicknamed it Sweetwater."

Cole's eyes snapped open. He gasped.

Zane and Jay turned to look at him. "What?" they said in unison.

Cole stood, then went to the pool. He bent down and scooped up a handful of the water. He sipped at it, then shook his head. "You were right, Jay." He said. "I just needed a little jarring to remember."

He turned to face them, green eyes bright. "Adam's ale," he said excitedly, "is water."

The gears started spinning in Jay's head. He stood up, then joined Cole next to the water. "Sweet Adam's ale," he laughed. "It's the river!"

"So the fatherland," Zane thought out loud, "would be what? The lake?"

"Exactly," Cole said, looking relieved. "So that settled it. We're going to the lake. Pack enough food for four people." He stood tall, new resolve straightening his careworn features. "We are going to rescue Kai. And we'll take a few stone warriors down while we're there."

How long did Kai sit in that water, drowning, before finally finding peace? It felt like an eternity.

How long was an eternity?

That was just it. An eternity had no end. No beginning. It was beyond fathom for a finite being such as himself.

Kai enjoyed philosophy. It was so fascinating. And it calmed him. Thinking about the problems of the world instead of his own made for a good distraction.

When he finally drifted back into consciousness, he was flummoxed. He could have sworn that he had died in that tank. He had seen the tunnel of light, even had a few flashbacks.

What had happened? Why wasn't he dead?

He forced himself to open his eyes. He was in a small room, laying on a hard mattress on the floor. A torch illuminated the grey stone walls. A wooden door was on the wall next to the torch, shut and most likely locked.

Kai found that he could not keep his eyes open for longer than a few seconds; the light was too overwhelming to him after so many hours of complete blackness.

His throat was parched, and his shoulder and head throbbed. He slowly lifted his right hand and rubbed his face. Goosebumps covered his arms and legs. He was cold, dry, and itchy. He could blame the salt water for that.

Wait... He opened his eyes and stared at his hands. Smooth, no water wrinkles. How long had it been since he'd left the tank?

How he had left the tank was the better question. He had no memory of it. All he remembered was drowning. Had he imagined it? The thought made him feel sick. What if, as a wild form of denial, he had imagined himself drowning as he walked out of the tank?

Kai dropped his hand onto his bare chest. He was scared. It was hard to breathe calmly when his mind was racing so unsteadily.

Click.

He turned his head and looked at the door as it opened with a loud creak. Two people entered. The first was the slave woman- the same one that had been in the room with the sensory deprivation tank. Eyes downcast and carrying a tray, she walked silently toward the dazed nobleman.

Directly behind her was the Overlord, dressed in all black, with his cloak rippling as it swept the floor. "How do you feel?" He asked, voice gentler than usual.

Still, it made Kai cringe. His ears were feeling even more sensitive than his eyes. He cleared his throat, then spoke hoarsely. "Go away."

Overlord shook his head. "Not yet," he said. "Remember what I said? When you left the tank, you agreed to be tattooed."

Had he? "I...have no recollection of leaving the tank," Kai said slowly.

"You were not thinking straight. Let me ask you a question." Overlord spread his arms. "What color am I wearing?"

Kai raised a brow. "Black," he said.

"Good." Overlord lowered his arms. "Now, what is Besai wearing?"

Besai? Kai looked at the slave. Was that her name? "Grey," he answered. "A thin, veil-like material." A...prostitute's dress.

Overlord nodded. "Your mind seems to be intact," he said. "Which is good. You will recover from the shock well enough." He looked at his slave and spoke in the Dark Tongue.

Besai immediately lowered herself to her knees and set the tray on the floor.

Kai examined the contents of the tray eagerly. A cup of water and a plate of food. He slowly sat upright, wincing at the pain in his shoulder, and accepted the cup from the woman's proffered hand.

"Drink slowly," Overlord said. "Consuming your meal too fast might make you vomit."

It took every ounce of willpower Kai had, but he managed to sip the water slowly. It was sweet, like the water from Cole's cave. What was with that?

The orange glop on his plate was strange, too. Its texture was both smooth and chunky. The taste was even stranger; it was both sweet and bitter, salty and bland.

Several times during the quiet, awkward meal, he tried to make eye contact with Besai, but she never looked up. Her pale, translucent blue eyes stayed fixed on her hands, which lay motionless on her lap.

Kai felt a twinge of pity in his heart for this girl. She could not have been older than twenty, but the hardships and suffering she had endured made her look so much more beaten down and haggard than she should have been. He wanted to reach out and take her hand; to tell her that everything would be okay and that they would both be free soon.

But nobody cares, Sanguine Knight. Remember that.

When he was finally finished with the meager meal, he felt a little stronger, although his stomach was starting to churn. Had he eaten too fast, or was the glop just disagreeing with his stomach?

Probably a combination of the two.

"Stand," the Overlord commanded. "We will go now."

Kai tried to stand, but found that his legs were too weak.

Overlord looked at Besai and pointed. She reached out, slid her cold arm underneath Kai's armpit, and gently helped him to his feet. For someone so spindly, she was very strong.

Overlord led the slow procession through the doorway and down the hall.

Kai looked around with squinting brown eyes; the hallway seemed brighter than he remembered. The torches were set beside every door on the left side, set about thirty feet apart.

Kai felt weak, having to lean on a woman for support. It wasn't that he thought women were weak, it was that he felt the men should be able to carry themselves and, in a way, be the support for woman, not the other way around.

After they passed eight torches- Kai had counted- the Overlord opened a door on the right and threw it wide for Kai and Besai. "Sit down on the bench," he said.

Kai, arm still slung around the girl's neck, made his way to the bench. Once seated, he looked at the tray beside him. It contained a number of random objects, including needles, rags, and a razor.

What...

He was too weak to resist what he knew was coming. Besai helped him lay down, then turned to look at the tray. With the Overlord observing scrupulously, she grabbed the razor and shaved all of the hairs on his left breast. She used a cup of cold water to wash away the remains.

Kai's heart rate rose rapidly. He pressed his eyes shut and clenched his fists at his sides.

My tattoo; the mark of the beast, so to speak. The Ouroboros dragon.

All of my slaves have it, Sanguine Knight. And the moment you step out of my tank, you'll get one, too.

"Why?" Kai whispered. "I don't want this."

"I want this," Overlord said. His voice said that he was to be obeyed, absolutely no exceptions. "And whatever I want, you want. Do you understand me?"

Kai stared at the ceiling, jaw tense.

Overlord wrapped a hand around Kai's neck and applied pressure. "I said, do you understand me?"

Kai choked on a gasp of pain. The Overlord glared at him darkly, hand steadily squeezing tighter.

"Yes..." Kai squeaked out finally. "I...understand."

The Overlord released his grip and stepped back, allowing Besai to continue preparing for the tattoo. "Good," he said. "I have other, more pressing, matters to deal with right now. But I might as well tell you now, Sanguine."

"What?" Kai asked breathlessly.

"Besai belongs to you," Overlord said, one hand on the door. "She is your property. Do with her as you will, she will not resist." He left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Kai looked back up at Besai, skin crawling. The message behind his words had been clear; she was a slave, good for nothing more than sinful pleasure.

"You're worth so much more than this," he said hoarsely.

Besai did not respond. She wiped his skin dry and prepared the tattoo gun, sterilizing the needles and filling it with black ink.

"Listen to me," he ordered.

She looked up at him for the first time, trembling.

Easy, Kai, he told himself. Too rough. You need to be softer. He smiled forcedly.

Her eyes grew wide, and her lips- pale, thin- trembled. She dared not look away, now.

Kai lifted a hand and reached for her face. She slowly leaned toward his hand, still not breaking eye contact. He brushed her cold cheek with his thumb.

For some reason, this gentle move surprised her. What had she been expecting?

"We can do this," Kai said. "We'll make it out of here, together."

Besai swallowed, then opened her mouth and spoke softly. "Ligha elech turiza." Her voice was unsteady and high, like a twelve-year-old girl. "Sane...gwine.."

Sanguine. She was trying to say his name.

Kai shook his head, then pulled his hand away and pointed at his chest. "Kai," he said.

Besai stared at his hand, confused. Obviously, no one had ever touched her in such way before. She had been expecting something completely different when Kai shouted at her. "Cha..." Her face grew slightly more animated as she tried to repeat the new word. Her 'Ch' sounded like she was trying to get phlegm out of her throat

She looked back at his hand, then picked up the tattoo gun. "Chay?" She asked, looking at the machine in her hand.

"You don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?" Kai sighed. "No." He pointed at her. "Besai." He pointed at himself again. "Kai."

She pointed at herself. "Besai-Chay."

She was trying. The fear in her eyes was a clear sign that she thought he would be angry if she did not do her best to interpret his gibberish. She looked at the door, then back at his face, whispering a few more lines of the Dark Tongue before securing his wrists to the table. She held up the machine and held it over his chest.

Kai closed his eyes again. "I can't do anything to avoid it," he said. "So just get it over with."

With a quiet whirring sound, the machine came to life. Besai carefully lowered the terrifying beast- needles pumping up and down- onto his chest. In and out, the needle went straight through the skin, then back up again, too fast for the naked eye to catch.

Kai gasped and tried to pull his restraints free. The pain was searing. How many times were the needles going to puncture his skin? A thousand times? A hundred thousand times?

Besai seemed to enjoy doing this even less than Kai enjoyed being the victim. Her hands, deft and steady, had probably done this many times before. She was experienced, but that did not mean that she liked it.

Tears sprung into Kai's eyes. How did people handle getting those huge tattoos, let alone small, fist-sized ones like he was unwillingly getting? The pain that went into them must be excruciating.

"Free me..." he whispered, biting the inside of his lip. "Get me out of this prison...someone."

But Zane was dead. Cole did not care. Was there anyone out there that did?

No one. No one at all.